Rope, especially harpoon line



March 1941- c. CHRISTIANSEN ETAL 2,233,517

ROPE, ESPECIALLY HARPOON LIN-E Filed Dec. 24, 1958 tu-ro A was Patented Mar. 4, 1941 UNITED STATES ROPE, ESPECIALLY HARPOON LINE Christian Christiansen, Oslo, and Gustav tw Karl Riisch, Mandal, Norway Application December 24, 1938, Serial No. 247,720 In Norway December 2'7, 1937 1 Claim. (01. 174-113) Ropes which in the usual way are made from single yarns have the disadvantage that they have a tendency to curling or knotting, no matter whether the strand is twisted in the direc- 5 tion of twisting of the yarns or in the opposite direction. A further disadvantage is that the inner layers of yarn at a stress of the rope up to the breaking strain, break first as this yarn will be subjected to the full load before the outer l layers of yarn which are laid in larger spirals and therefore have a higher elasticity respectively must be more stretched before they come under full strain.

Subject matter of the present invention is a 1'5 rope in which the said disadvantages are removed and which at the same time, when used as a harpoon line (whaling line) with an insulated electric conductor laid into one or more of the strands for killing the whale by means of 20 an electric current, has the advantage that the conductor is secured in place in the centre of the line without special means such as wrappings or the like.

According to the invention the rope is made 25 with a core twisted with a smaller pitch than the outer layers of Lu 1. The core hereby may (he twisted from single yarns or may consist of a thin ready made rose. The outer layers of yarn may be twisted in the same direction as 30 the core or in the opposite direction. The yarn of the core or the rope forming the core may for instance be twisted with a pitch corresponding to about 20-30 windings per meter and the outer layers of the yarn with a pitch of about 8 35 windings per meter, as usual for the strands of a harpoon line.

It is hereby obtained partly that the stress on the core and on the outer layers of yarn in the strand is more evenly distributed, partly 40 that a curling or knotting of the ready rope is prevented thereby that the core and the layers of yarn wound about the same have diii'erent tedencies to curling or knotting.

When the rope is used as harpoon line the 45 outer layers of yarn wound about the core will prevent the core from opening or being forced out of the line during the flight of the line or upon impact against the whales body, and an insulated electric conductor embedded in the line consequently also can not force its way out of the same.

In usual ropes and not electrical harpoon lines a rope used as core suitably may be composed of three strands, whereas in an electrical harpoon line in which an electric conductor is laid into the core, this preferably should consist of a greater number of strands, for instance 4, 5 or more. A harpoon line consists as a rule of three 10 strands and has a circumference of 4-4 its strands correspondingly a circumference of about 2-2%,f, i. e. a diameter of to 1 A ready made rope which is inserted in such strand as a core substituting the inner layers of yarn, 1 suitably may have a circumference of 1-154" corresponding to a diameter of 95 to The accompanying drawing illustrates an example of a rope according to the invention, used as an electrical harpoon line, the strand of which has a core consisting of a ready made rope in which the insulated electric conductor is inserted.

An end of one of the strands is unwound in order to show the construction clearly.

I is the insulated electric conductor inserted in the rope 2, about which the yarns 3 are wound so that the rope forms a core in the strand I. The rope 2 here comprises five strands 5, each made of four yarns 8. According to the invention the rope 2 is made with a considerably smaller pitch than the outer layers of yarn 3.

What we claim is:

An electrical harpoon line comprising a stress sustaining and current carrying rope including one or more strands, at least one of such strands consisting of a core formed of a straight, centered electrical conductor wrapped with twisted rope strands, and an outer layer of yarn wrapped around said core, the core strands being twisted and wound upon said conductor with a smaller pitch than the outer layers of yarn; whereby said conductor is held in centered position and prevented from breaking through said wrappings during its flight through the air or upon impact with its target.

CHRISTIAN crmrs'rmnssn. GUSTAV o'r'ro KARL R'USCH. 

